VOLUTEERING AT THE SCAA
Second Chance Animal Aid is a volunteer organisation in Shanghai, supporting and looking after abandoned animals and re-homing them. The reason I try not to do too much animal-oriented volunteering is because I have a massively soft heart for animals. I just know I'll fall in love with one (or more) and get really really sad not being able to take them home. But finally, Chris and I decided to get up early one Sunday morning and help out the animals :)
It was about one hour out of Shanghai, when all the buildings starting dropping away and we saw more and more farms. It's amazing how much Shanghai changes in just an hour! We were basically in woop-woops-ville with hardly a soul in sight, fresh clean air, and green grass. Ahhhh.... divine.
The purpose of the day was really simple - look after and play with the cats. As volunteers only come once every two weeks, the poor kittys are quite starved of attention and affection. So we just had to interact with them and play with them, as well as brush their fur (they love this). I wouldn't even call it "volunteering", because we got so so so much out of it ourselves :) I just adored the kitties!
There were over 100 cats there, in this large converted house. A total cat paradise, the cats can roam freely and lounge around all day. What a life! These cats are here because they're abandoned though, and some of them with a bunch of problems (mainly mouth/gum issues), so they stay there until they can get re-homed - which isn't exactly a sure-thing since many of the cats are old (people only like to adopt cute little kittens). So they are just there, having a nice quiet life, until they go to kitty heaven.
I tried very veeerrryyy hard not to cuddle them TOO much, because I just know I'll get irrationally attached and want to bring one home. Was doing a fairly good job of it, in fact, until at the end... when I sat down and a beautiful black cat jumped onto my lap, purring madly and being so affectionate. I wanted to bring it home so badly :(
It was really nice to be out there, in the middle of nowhere, and playing with these gorgeous cats. A wonderful way to spend a Sunday :)
On the way to the Animal Shelter. Not a high-rise building in sight, amazing for Shanghai!
A couple of dogs. These were abandoned guard dogs and are trained to kill on sight.
They were scary...
Certainly not a sweet, cuddly dog!
Kitty paradise!!
Very well looked after cats, looking smug
Awwww 'lil cutie!
Salmon snacks
Enjoying a scratch
One of the large rooms in the house
Snuggle time
Ceiling Cat watches you stealthily from above
"Hullo Ceiling Cat!"
A RIDICULOUSLY FUNNY video of a cat with a nerve problem (and me yabbering away).
You totally have to watch it - much LOLment!!
A gorgeous pure white kitty
Content in a new kitty bed that we brought
Pretty kitty
Chris really attracts the pussy. OH YES, I did say that!
This cat was totally enamoured with him and kept snuggling up
And this jet black kitty loved me :)
Oh to be a cat... what a fab life
Us = cat chairs
Awwwww what a cutie!!
It was about one hour out of Shanghai, when all the buildings starting dropping away and we saw more and more farms. It's amazing how much Shanghai changes in just an hour! We were basically in woop-woops-ville with hardly a soul in sight, fresh clean air, and green grass. Ahhhh.... divine.
The purpose of the day was really simple - look after and play with the cats. As volunteers only come once every two weeks, the poor kittys are quite starved of attention and affection. So we just had to interact with them and play with them, as well as brush their fur (they love this). I wouldn't even call it "volunteering", because we got so so so much out of it ourselves :) I just adored the kitties!
There were over 100 cats there, in this large converted house. A total cat paradise, the cats can roam freely and lounge around all day. What a life! These cats are here because they're abandoned though, and some of them with a bunch of problems (mainly mouth/gum issues), so they stay there until they can get re-homed - which isn't exactly a sure-thing since many of the cats are old (people only like to adopt cute little kittens). So they are just there, having a nice quiet life, until they go to kitty heaven.
I tried very veeerrryyy hard not to cuddle them TOO much, because I just know I'll get irrationally attached and want to bring one home. Was doing a fairly good job of it, in fact, until at the end... when I sat down and a beautiful black cat jumped onto my lap, purring madly and being so affectionate. I wanted to bring it home so badly :(
It was really nice to be out there, in the middle of nowhere, and playing with these gorgeous cats. A wonderful way to spend a Sunday :)
On the way to the Animal Shelter. Not a high-rise building in sight, amazing for Shanghai!
A couple of dogs. These were abandoned guard dogs and are trained to kill on sight.
They were scary...
Certainly not a sweet, cuddly dog!
Kitty paradise!!
Very well looked after cats, looking smug
Awwww 'lil cutie!
Salmon snacks
Enjoying a scratch
One of the large rooms in the house
Snuggle time
Ceiling Cat watches you stealthily from above
"Hullo Ceiling Cat!"
A RIDICULOUSLY FUNNY video of a cat with a nerve problem (and me yabbering away).
You totally have to watch it - much LOLment!!
Click to viewA gorgeous pure white kitty
Content in a new kitty bed that we brought
Pretty kitty
Chris really attracts the pussy. OH YES, I did say that!
This cat was totally enamoured with him and kept snuggling up
And this jet black kitty loved me :)
Oh to be a cat... what a fab life
Us = cat chairs
Awwwww what a cutie!!